What Lingerie Goes Best With Your Ben & Jerry's?

It may be a Tuesday in the middle of winter, but the hottest day of the year is tomorrow. For all us single ladies out there, Valentine’s Day is the one day of the year where eating red velvet cake while watching the Bachelor reruns with your cats is perfectly acceptable (call me?). But for those with real plans, the outfit must match the heat and anticipation of the day - and not just what you see, but also what is underneath. That’s right, we’re talking about all the sexy pieces of lingerie worn on Valentine’s Day. According to the National Retail Federation, Valentine’s Day is expected to bring in $18.2 million in sales with the average consumer spending nearly $137. So with a large uptake in consumer spending, what does the lingerie market look like ahead of the sexiest day of the year?

In terms of color, Valentine’s Day is the time to make bold strokes. While flesh-tones and whites still dominate the current lingerie assortment (not all of us are taking risks), we do see a splash of bold colors entering the market. Taking it quite literally, we see shades of grey as the next popular color - not fifty, but about 13%. Next to grey, we have black accounting for 6% of the assortment with red coming in at 4%. While not overwhelming the lingerie market, we see color making a small splash just in time for the holiday.

Aside from color, what about the actual styles? Currently among top retailers, intimates compose about 12% of the total assortment, 6% of which has sold out in the past two weeks. In terms of the recently sold out products, we have the doozy of sleepwear selling out faster than some of the more risque categories (bachelor reruns in your pj’s, too, ladies?). But getting to more of the fun stuff, panties and intimate gowns come in a close second and third, selling out 13% and 12% of their assortment respectively.

But are the styles that are selling out in these categories aligned with what we would expect from Valentine’s Day purchases? It appears so. With classic laces, blacks, and reds among sold out products, we see occasion-wear as a key to products that are leaving the internet-shelves of top retailers quickly.

Looking at these patterns, what can we say about the retail industry and Valentine’s Day? It appears that there still is a healthy relationship between the two. While we still see streaks of the traditional (flesh tones and sleepwear), there is a bit of spice stirring things up around this time of year with sexier products and colors contributing to Valentine’s Day spending. So, don’t forget to join us in nine months as we discuss the increase of baby clothing entering the market….